We now know watching it is damaging and addictive but we don't give teenagers many other options

Donal Lynch

Exactly a decade ago I interviewed the feminist writer Naomi Wolf, who had previously expressed her loathing of porn. I thought I was being very clever altogether by pointing out to her that the women in porn, unlike most female stars in mainstream media, came in all shapes and sizes.

Wise words: Naomi Wolf warned that porn was desensitising and research over the past decade has borne that out Photo: Gerry Mooney

Exactly a decade ago I interviewed the feminist writer Naomi Wolf, who had previously expressed her loathing of porn. I thought I was being very clever altogether by pointing out to her that the women in porn, unlike most female stars in mainstream media, came in all shapes and sizes.

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A date with destiny that destroyed Men of Manhattan fantasy

Independent.ie

Exactly a decade ago I interviewed the feminist writer Naomi Wolf, who had previously expressed her loathing of porn. I thought I was being very clever altogether by pointing out to her that the women in porn, unlike most female stars in mainstream media, came in all shapes and sizes.

Horny men were into fat women before Dove ever thought to make a marketing campaign out of loving your curves. In terms of body shape, porn would also seem to be a much broader church than fashion. So in a way, I asked her, isn't, say, Ron Jeremy more of a feminist than, say, Anna Wintour?

Naomi laughed indulgently and shook her head. "The depiction of women in porn is only one of the problems with it. Porn desensitises, sexually speaking. If you watch a lot of porn, at the crucial moments when you're with someone you're playing your favourite little clip in your head.

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